I'm having the same problem with that Beethoven piece with the cross-over section. My chest isn't in the way, but I need longer arms. I found that if I quickly scoot over on the bench (without falling off) it helps.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

I don’t know if this can be done efficiently in that Liszt piece because I’ve never played it, but I'm sure it's likely to work given the slow tempo indication. I do this as often as possible in many pieces to avoid crossing arms. Although... Be careful not to forget to subdue what should be played at lower volume and continue to emphasize the louder part, when "swapping hands".

Last edited by Cydonia on Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I tried to exchange the note responsibility between the hands. But it sounded very bad and hesistant after a couple of hours of practice. (Not all in one session...I can't sit at the keyboard for more than twenty minutes at a time...I become bored)

The left hand was the worst part. The right hand arpeggies were not bad.

_________________Madam, what makes you think that I play with my hands?

Martin - yes - the Tempest, 2nd movement. I've been practicing that piece for a couple weeks now, and it is all ok, except for that cross-over part. I listen to Brendel, who plays it so smooth and easy. But it's also slower than how I have been practicing, so I thought I just need to slow down to get it to go right. Now, however, I am going to try your idea. My piano lessons are cancelled for another couple weeks, but this is just the kind of thing my teacher would suggest. There is a place in the first movement where this idea could work, too. Wish I would have remembered all of that, earlier. Can't wait to try it tomorrow. Thanks.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

I have always used hand-swapping when possible - I learned to do that early on from Bach's 15th sinfonia. But when I was learning the Tempest, my teacher...well, he got his PhD (and his other degrees also) from Julliard. He seemed to think that hand-swapping was out of the question.

Well, I tried that hand-swapping thing yesterday. It works fine, except that the left hand needs to shoot up quickly and take over the 16th notes coming down. If you don't do that, then the hands end up crossing the other way, which totally confused me, so I gave up. I guess with enough practice I could jump the LH to take over the run, but I have a feeling I'm not doing something right. I think I need to stick to the original way. Thanks for the tip, anyway.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Oh. Well, since I don't have a PhD at all (much less one from Julliard) I guess you're not talking about me.

He was actually an awesome teacher. He just wasn't really fond of anything he thought was cheating, and you can bet that his ideas on what was cheating and what was not came from his schooling. He went to Julliard when he was 8.

If it means anything one trick that helps me lots when doing big jumps is sitting in the same comfortable spot. If I am always moving, then my hand motions are always different. It makes it hard to remember your hand motions if they are not always the same! If I sit in the same spot after a little while I can play eyes almost closed. Although I should say I never actually tried to play this piece so I might be speaking out of turn. There are also other tricks to learning jumps I think :)

[quote="juufa72"]Hello all,

I have decided to dust off my Hungarian Rhapsody #5 because it is an underrated rhapsody. Sure it's long and lacks a friska, but it has it's moments.

But the problem I am having is playing a chord in the left hand then an apregg. on the higher registers with that hand, while playing something in the same spot with my right hand.

Any tips? Especially for small(er) hands and a big(ger) chest / frame? ( I knew that weightlifting like Schwarzenegger wouldn't be a good idea :x :wink: )

Thanks,

-jg

p..s I posted the sheet music below. The trouble begins on page 6.[/quote]

If it means anything one trick that helps me lots when doing big jumps is sitting in the same comfortable spot. If I am always moving, then my hand motions are always different. It makes it hard to remember your hand motions if they are not always the same! If I sit in the same spot after a little while I can play eyes almost closed. Although I should say I never actually tried to play this piece so I might be speaking out of turn. There are also other tricks to learning jumps I think

This seems to make sense. It is for the same reason that organists are recommened to keep the knees together as much as possible, making it easier for the feet to remember and find their positions from a central pivot point.

But the problem I am having is playing a chord in the left hand then an apregg. on the higher registers with that hand, while playing something in the same spot with my right hand.

I guess it's the high LH arpeggios that give you trouble, not the low (un-crossed) ones ?

There are 3 reasons that may make these difficult:

1) The stretch, as you have small hands
2) The fact that the LH must play over the right (though the distance is not great, that can't be the problem as you are not Terez )
3) The high lying position of the LH, which perhaps necessitates a posture change

I recommend trying to find out which of these 3 aspects is causing you the most trouble, and practice them on their own. This is just an idea, I never tried something like this as these bars never gave me trouble. Sound like it might work though...

Do any of you guys slide around laterally on the piano bench during a piece? I've been finding recently some pieces are much easier if I sit more to one side or the other. And during some pieces I have to slide to one side for some passages. Is that kosher? or is my bellybutton supposed to always point at middle C?

_________________the one, the only ... Nathan Coleman"You see, my piano is for me what his ship is to a sailor; more indeed: it is my very self, my mother tongue, my life." - Franz Liszt

I use an 'artists' bench, so I can only scoot over about 5 inches without falling off. But I still need to lean to the right as well. That's only for about one measure, though. So, this scooting and leaning does help me. (probably looks weird)

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 0 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum